The Blue Flame of Ikebukuro
by queenjazz225
Summary: Rin Okumura expected a relaxing break from True Cross Academy and visit the distract of Ikebukuro. But little did he know what dangers and secrets the city has to offer him and a certain informant will make sure he will never forget it... (PLEASE READ PROFILE PAGE FOR IMPORTANT NEWS)
1. Chapter 1

"Rin, slow down. I can't keep up!"

"C'mon Shiemi if we stop, four-eyes might get us!"

Two uniformed Cross Academy students with a few travel bags ran through the crowds of Ikebukuro in the late afternoon. Rin Okumura got a bit bored of his travel group and decided to get 'lost' in the crowds, bringing his best friend Shiemi Moriyama with him. He couldn't wait to see what made Ikebukuro like nowhere else in Tokyo, and sticking with his brother and classmates weren't going to give him the experience he wanted.

They continued going through the busy streets, passing the people who were rushing home from work, when suddenly Rin stopped at his tracks. His stomach started to growl of hunger. Shiemi finally caught up with him

"Can we...go get something... to eat? I'm a bit...hungry", she asked while catching her breath.

Rin looked around the area, looking for somewhere to eat when he spotted a tall black man wearing a white sushi chef outfit giving out fliers to potential customers.

"Come to Russia Sushi. It good, it cheap!"

_'Russia Sushi? I never heard of that before,'_ Rin thought. _'I guess we can try it out.'_

Rin focused his attention to Shiemi, pointed to the direction of the restaurant and asked her, "What about that sushi place?"

Shiemi looked at the direction Rin was pointing and studied the restaurant carefully. "Hmm, okay, I guess."

"You don't have to if you don't want..."

"It's not that, it's just I never ate at a sushi restaurant before." she said in a worrisome tone.

Rin gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about that. I can help you with picking out menu items. Is that okay?"

Shiemi smiled back and nodded. "Yes, thanks."

The two friends run towards the restaurant and in front of the tall man. Rin waved at him to catch his attention. The man turned around and looked down on Rin and Shiemi, giving them a friendly smile.

"Hello there. Long time no see."

Rin was a bit startled at the man, never seeing someone like him before in his life. He took a big gulp and said, "We would like to eat at this fine sushi place you have here. So can we come in?"

The man moved away from the doorway and gestured the students to get inside. Rin and Shiemi smiled at each other, then walked in.

They took a seat at an empty table across from each other and took up the menus, wondering what to order. Rin cheeks started to burn pink as he peeked through his menu to see Shiemi's face. _'It feels like we're on a date...'_

"Rin? What are you getting?"

Rin immediately snapped back to reality when he heard her voice, still blushing while waving his hand frantically. "Um... I haven't decided yet. Just give me more time!"

"Okay, I haven't decided what I wanted yet either. However..." She slid her menu towards Rin, right on the specials page. "There are some weird items on here."

Rin stared at the page, scowling at the odd items. _'Cheese sushi ,sour cream sushi? Who the hell came up with this?'_

He sighed and gave the menu back to the blonde. "Those are weird items, just don't order them."

Shiemi nodded and continued looking through her menu. Suddenly, the man from earlier came to their table, still smiling.

"So you decided to order?" he asked.

I'll just get some nigiri," Rin replied, giving his menu to the server.

Shiemi sighed, laying her menu down. "I'm still can't decide. What do you suggest mister?'

"I would recommend the fatty tuna if you asked me~" a voice said.

Rin and Shiemi looked around for the voice, seeing a young man standing beside Rin's seat. He had raven hair that fell just below his reddish-brown eyes, wearing a fur-trimmed coat over a black v-neck shirt, and dark blue pants. He smirked at the students then turned his attention to the tall, black man.

"Izaya! Long time no see. Here for Sushi?"

Izaya nodded at the man. "Indeed I am Simon. Just give me the usual." Izaya looked back at Rin. "If you don't mind, I'm going to sit with the new costumers."

Rin glared at Izaya, not being fond of the thought of some random stranger sitting next to him. "Now just wait a min-" Before Rin could finished, the raven sat right beside him, making Rin giving him some room and moved his travel bag.

"Oh, you're so kind, young man~" Izaya mused.

Rin placed his elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand. He was clearly not happy with this situation at all. "So much for my date..." he mumbled under his breath.

Shiemi finally decided on her order and ordered otooro, much Rin's annoyance. Simon took the menus and left to go get their orders, leaving the three alone with nothing but the sounds of murmurs of other costumers. After a moment of awkward silence, Izaya tried to start a conversation with the students. "Well, I never seen you two before, out of town, I'm guessing?"

"You can say that. We come from another part of Tokyo," Rin replied, still slightly annoyed. "We're visiting Ikebukuro with some classmates of ours."

"Interesting, Let me be the first one to welcome you to this city. I'm Izaya Orihara, it's nice to meet you."

Shiemi bowed her head to Izaya in respect. "I'm Shiemi Moriyama. It's nice to meet you too, Orihara-san."

"Rin Okumura," he sighed.

Izaya laughed a bit at the student's responses. "What's wrong, Rin-kun~? Don't like the extra company?"

Rin just glared at him, not wanting to answer his question. Then Simon returned to the group with their orders placing them down on the table. "Sushi for everyone! Enjoy!"

Rin immediately brighten up at the sight of the food. "Thank God, I was starving!"

They dug in to their food, enjoying every piece of sushi. When they were done, Rin looked through his bag to get his wallet to pay the bill. "Where the hell is it? It gotta be here somewhere."

Izaya stood up from his seat and took out some bills out of his jacket pockets and lay it on the table. "Allow me, Rin-kun."

"You don't really have to, I just have to find..."

"No, no. I insist. It's the least I can do."

Shiemi smiled at the young man. "Thank you very much, Orihara-san! That's very nice of you."

"Showoff..." Rin grumbled under his breath.

* * *

They walked outside the restaurant and stood a few meters away from the entrance. The sun was already setting behind the tall buildings and the night dwellers of the city started to fill the streets. Rin and Shiemi bowed to Izaya and said their goodbyes.

"Again, thanks for the food. It was nice to meet you." Rin said.

Izaya smirked at Rin."Oh don't worry, we will certainly meet again."

_What does he mean by that? Rin thought._

Suddenly, a loud, gruff voice came out of nowhere. Rin and Shiemi got starled and frantically look for where the sound was coming from.

"IZAYA!"

Izaya smirk grew larger than before. "Well, it looks like Shizu-chan found me~!"

Rin stared at Izaya for a moment. "Who the hell is 'Shizu-chan'?"

Then a tall, blond man wearing a bartender's outfit stepped forward from the street he was from. He smirked at Izaya, while Rin goes in front of Shiemi. The other people around the area moved out of the way, not wanting to be stuck in the crossfire of what was going to happen.

"Well Izaya-kun, you decided to show your damn face here! I thought you said that you were going underground for a while."

Izaya laughed at the man's comment. "Oh Shizu-chan, you know I can't stay away from my beloved city for long. Besides, everything has cooled down now and I'm starting to get bored," He pulled out his switchblade from his jacket pocket and pointed it at the blond. "Now let's have some 'fun', shall we?"

Rin couldn't believe what was happening before him. A street fight was going to happen and he didn't bring his Koma sword with him so he could protect Shiemi. He can only hope that it doesn't get really bad.

"How many times I have to tell you," the blond yelled while lifting up the vending machine from the ground , "That my name is Shizuo Heiwajima!"

Rin eyes grew wide in awe and confusion at Shizuo's action. _'But how can he do that? I thought I was the only one with incredible strength. Unless...'_

Before he knew it, Shizuo threw the vending machine at Izaya. Izaya quickly ran out of the way of the hurling metal. "You missed, Shizu-chan~!"

The machine was headed towards Rin and Shiemi's way. Rin went to position and grabbed the machine before it could squashed them both. He gently put the machine down at his side, then looked back at Shiemi, who was in total shock. "You okay?"

Shiemi shook her head out of her shock and nodded at Rin in relief. "Yeah, but I should be asking you that."

"Heh, I'm fine! That thing wasn't even heavy!" he bragged.

"What the hell?"

Rin turned back to Shizuo and Izaya, who was staring at him in a mixture of confusion and curiosity. He looked around at the crowd and they stared the same way. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

_'This is bad...'_


	2. Chapter 2

The stares and whispers of the bystanders were surrounded Rin while he stood. Most of them couldn't believe that a mere kid stopped a throw from the strongest man in Ikebukuro. Even Shizuo Heiwajima himself couldn't believe what just happened. It isn't everyday he found someone who had the same strength as him. Before he could apologize to the kid, he and the blonde girl ran off through the busy crowds.

Shizuo stood still, deep in his thoughts, _'That kid was able to catch that vending machine like it was nothing. He doesn't seem to be from around here. Is it possible that...'_

He snapped back into reality when he heard his worst enemy, Izaya Orihara, chuckling like a madman. "Well, it seems that there's more to Rin-kun than I thought. Heh, this will be more fun than I imagined!"

Shizuo glared at the raven while Izaya skipped through the streets, escaping from his sight. "And where do you think you're going, you flea!"

He pulled a street sign from the ground and aimed it at Izaya, but he escaped before it could hit him. The bystanders continued to whisper to each other of the events that just took place. Shizuo sighed in annoyance and walked a different direction towards home, too dumbfounded to search for the flea. He stopped near a street corner, looking at the sunset-colored sky. "I wonder if I'll see that kid again..."

* * *

Rin and Shiemi were sitting at a bench at a local park, catching their breaths after running for 10 minutes without stopping. "Man, that was crazy! Could you believe that Shizuo guy? He picked up that vending machine like it was nothing! But how can he though? No human should be that strong."

Shiemi took some breaths before she responded to her friend, "Maybe he's half demon like you."

Rin thought of that possibility for a moment. "Maybe. But he is a bit dangerous, don't you think? We have to tell Yukio about this."

"Heh, you betcha we have to tell him!" A irritated voice said.

The students looked around to see that the voice belonged to Shura Kirigakure, their circle's and seals instructor and Rin's mentor. She stood in front of them, not happy to see the young half-demon. She then slapped Rin to the side of his head.

"What the hell were you two thinking when you left the group huh? Scaredy cat four-eyes was getting worried sick so he sent me to look for you guys and then when I found you, you decide to pick a fight with some bartender and a guy in an Eskimo jacket! And you almost got ya friend hurt!"

"I didn't pick a fight with them! They just started fighting each other out of nowhere!" Rin protested. "And if I didn't stop the machine, he would've killed us!"

Shura sighed, rubbing her forehead to calm herself down. "It's just I don't know what would I do if anything happened to you guys during our visit here. Just don't do something stupid again, do ya hear me?"

Both Rin and Shiemi nodded at her, she smirked in response. "Good! Now we better check into our motel and tell Four-eyes what you two encountered today."

The three left the park and headed to the their motel, when suddenly a sound of neighing was heard at a street corner. "What in the? Why are there horses here? This town just get weirder and weirder." Shura commented.

Rin found himself running away from the two young ladies and searching for the sound. He went through the crowd who were surrounding the sidewalks. He looked both ways to see where the sound came from. Then, a pitch motorcycle with a rider who was also wearing black with a yellow and blue cat helmet drove through the street, making that neigh voice once again. Rin couldn't help but stare in awe at the rider while it passed. By the time the rider left, Shura and Shiemi caught up with Rin, who was still standing in awe of what he just saw.

"Rin! Don't just run off like that!"

"Yeah you twerp! What did you just promised me back at the park, huh?"

Rin snapped out of his thoughts. "That was awesome..."

"Huh?" The girls said in unison.

Rin turned his attention to the girls."You guys missed it, some really cool guy in a motorcycle came by. I don't know why, but it felt amazing when he passed."

The girls looked at each other, confused at what Rin said. Eventually, the three continued on their way to the motel. Rin got lost in his thoughts for the rest of the way, thinking about what happened today. He visited a unusual sushi restaurant, met a shady guy in a fur-trimmed jacket, stopped the rampages of the strongest man in Ikebukuro, and saw the Black Rider all in one day.

_'This is going to be the most awesome trip ever!'_

* * *

Meanwhile in Shinjuku, Izaya stepped into his apartment and put away his signature jacket. He walked towards his desks and booted up his computers. A woman walked towards his desk with her arms crossed and her eyes cold as ice. "What took you so long? I thought you said you were just going to get something to eat."

Izaya smirked at her and gave a little chuckle. "Well, I bumped into a interesting human today and lost track of time. Things like that happen, Namie."

Namie scoffed at him. "Whatever. Anyway, I'm done with that paperwork you wanted me to do, can I go home now?"

"Sure, see you tomorrow!" Izaya said in a teasing tone.

With that, Namie took her things and left, leaving Izaya by himself. He signed into his computers and started laughing giddily. "It seems that I finally have something to ease my boredom. With the gang war between the Dollars and the Yellow Scarves over, Ikebukuro has been too quiet for my taste."

Izaya logged in to his chatroom account as his alias 'Kanra'. "I wonder who's on right now."

TaroTanaka: Hey, did you guys heard what happened today?

Setton: You mean about a kid stopping Shizuo Heiwajima's throw near Russia Sushi? Yeah I heard of it.

Byakura: What? I don't believe that one bit!

TaroTanaka: But it's true! I was actually there when it happened! It felt so unreal!

*Kanra has logged on*

Kanra: Kanra's in the house~!

TaroTanaka: Oh hey there Kanra.

Setton: Hi.

Byakura: Drop dead!

Kanra: Oh, you're so mean Byakura!

Kanra: Anyway, it seems we have another monster in Ikebukuro, don't we?

Setton: I don't think we should jump to conclusions yet.

Byakura: The only monster here is you, Kanra!

Kanra: Meanie~!

Kanra: I wonder who would win in a fight...

TaroTanaka: I think Shizuo would win...

Setton: We can't be sure about that. The kid could possibly have other abilities.

Kanra: Other abilities? That would certainly be interesting!

Kanra: Well I gotta go! Bye Bye~!

TaroTanaka: Later!

Setton: Bye.

Byakura: I hope you die!

*Kanra has left the chatroom*

Izaya left the chat website and went to the Dollars website only to see many forum threads about what happened earlier. "It seems that Rin-kun is the talk of the town. And no wonder, it isn't everyday that someone as strong as Shizu-chan comes along. But I wonder..." He got up from his chair and walked towards his unusual board game consisting of chess, mahjong and go pieces. He picked up one of the pawns and moved it on the board. "Who would win in a fight? That's what I want to know." He stared at the board for a moment. Then he smirked at the idea of Rin and Shizuo trying to kill each other, creating utter chaos in Ikebukuro.

"And that's what I'm going to figure out. But first, I have to get more info on Rin-kun."

He went back to his computer, searching through the internet to look for anything on Rin. He found a forbidden database, with all the students who attended True Cross Academy. "Interesting, so he's an exorcist in training, huh? That makes things more fun."

He got off his chair again, only to look out his window. His smirk grew more sadistically as he thinks of all the possible ways he can have some 'fun'. "Just you wait Rin-kun, your trip to Ikebukuro will be one that you will never forget."


	3. Chapter 3

"Man, this sucks."

Walking the streets of Ikebukuro at around 11:00 am was Rin Okumura, wearing a hooded shirt and some jeans. Alongside him was his younger twin brother Yukio, who was wearing his exorcist outfit. The night before, Yukio scolded Rin for leaving the travel group and almost getting Shiemi hurt. But after learning about Rin's suspicions of Shizuo Heiwajima from Shura, he decided to not punish him very harshly. Instead the brothers agreed to look into Shizuo and see if he was a threat to the city.

"You have no one to blame but yourself, Nii-san." Yukio said.

Rin scoffed at his twin. "Why couldn't I just look for him myself?"

"Because if it turns out that this Shizuo is a demon of some sort, I got to be there to be sure." Yukio sighed. "Besides, I don't want you to do any unnecessary actions towards him."

Rin grumbled and stuffed his hands in his pants' pockets. "So how we supposed to get any info on him, huh?"

"I'm going to see if we can find anyone close to him to tell us anything about him, that's the first step. Second step is that we confront him ourselves, or how that's how I want it to go." Yukio said calmly.

The twins continued aimlessly walking the streets when suddenly, a group of three tanned girls wearing unusual school uniforms stepped in front of them. Their brunette leader walked towards Rin, getting a good look of him.

"Is there something you girls want?" Yukio asked.

"Can it, dork!" the leader hissed at Yukio. Then she looked at Rin in the eye and asked, "So you're Rin Okumura?"

Rin was surprised at the girl's question. He simply nodded to her to answer her. Then the blonde follower took out her flip phone out her bag and opened it up. Rin looked at her in confusion.

"Mind if we have a photo with you? Someone who stopped Shizuo Heiwajima's throws without a sweat must be cool!" the blonde asked.

_'Cool? These girls think I'm cool?'_ Rin thought.

He rubbed the back of his head and smiled at the girls. "Sure, why not?"

The girls squealed and run towards Rin, pushing Yukio away. The girls positioned themselves and posed in front of Rin while the blonde girl took the photo. They looked at the photo on the screen and were satisfied at the result. The girls smiled at Rin and walked away while squealing, "Thank you so much!"

Rin waved back at them as they left. As soon as the girls were nowhere in sight, Yukio walked towards his brother with a devious smile. "Well that was unusual. It seems you're getting pretty popular here."

"Yeah, I guess..." He chuckled. Then he facepalmed and realized that he forgot to ask the girls about if they knew anything about Shizuo. "Crap, I could have asked them about that Shizuo guy."

"I doubt that they knew anything, so I wouldn't worry so much." Yukio said, reassuring his older twin.

Rin sighed and continued walking. "Well, we should keep searching."

Yukio chuckled at his brother's disappointment and continued to walk along side him. Most of the afternoon the brothers asked some of the residents for any info on Shizuo, only to get either "I don't know much" or "He's some kind of badass monster", none of the responses were helpful to them. What was also difficult was that people left and right kept asking Rin for photos and autographs, some that Yukio had to decline for him. They took a break at a park bench, disappointed at their lack of information.

"Man, we wasted the entire day looking for anything on this jerk and we barely have enough." Rin complained.

Yukio sighed at his brother, "Calm down Rin, it's only 4:00 pm. We still have some time before we quit for today."

"Why the sad face, Rin-kun?" a familiar voice asked.

The twins looked at Izaya Orihara, who was standing a few meters away from them. Rin sighed and turned his head away, not wanting to see him. "Why are you here Izaya?"

Yukio looked back and forth between his brother and Izaya and asked Rin, "You know this man?"

Rin turned to his brother, "Not really, I met him yesterday at a sushi place and..." That was when it hit him. He got up from the bench and looked Izaya in the eye. "You know him..."

"I don't know what you mean Rin-kun." Izaya said while waving his hand.

"You know that Shizuo guy right? You got to tell us about him, please?" Rin begged.

Yukio immediately got off of the bench as well and stood beside his brother. "It's for an important matter."

Izaya sighed and put his hands in his jacket pockets. "I don't know, why would a bunch of exorcists be interested in Shizu-chan."

Rin's eyes widened in shock. He glared at Izaya."How did you know that we are exorcists?"

"I'm an information broker, it's my job to look into such things. I also know that your brother's name is Yukio Okumura and he's a Middle First Class exorcist for the True Cross. While you're just an Exwire, not really much of a class."

Rin and Yukio stared at Izaya in shock. How much did this man know? And did he know what Rin truly is? Yukio got out of his shock and said calmly, "I must say, you are a talented informant indeed. But if you snoop into our organization too deeply," He pulled out his gun and pointed it at the informant's forehead, "We will have to turn you in."

Izaya sighed and shrugged. "You don't have to worry too much, I'm not going to do anything to True Cross. And besides that's all I know about you two, most of the other information I wanted is so secure even I can't get into it."

Rin just looked at Yukio while he put his gun back in its holder and gave Izaya a stern stare. "Okay then. Now tell us about Shizuo Heiwajima. And don't leave out any details."

Izaya gave them a neutral expression, rubbing his head. He sighed again. "If this was any other circumstance, I wouldn't even talk about him, for I hate him so much. Though I've known him for years, there are some things I don't know. But, in this case, I'll tell you what I do know, free of charge."

Rin smiled at Izaya's response. _'Finally, we're getting somewhere!'_

"Shizuo Heiwajima, where do I start? He's a bodyguard working for a debt collector and as you can see, he has abnormal strength and a really bad temper." Izaya explained.

"That's all? Come on, you gotta know more than that!" Rin blurted.

"Nii-san, calm down." Yukio whispered. "I'm sorry about him, he can be a handful."

Izaya smirked. "It's okay. But anyway, why would you exorcists be interested in Shizu-chan?'

"We are under the suspicion that Shizuo Heiwajima could possibly be a demon of some sort." Yukio replied.

Izaya blurted out in laughter for a few moments. Then he calmed himself down, and said "That would explain everything if that was true." He took out his black cellphone, looking at the time. "Well, I gotta go. I am a busy man. Good luck on your mission!" He walked away from the park, waving at the twins.

The twins left the park a few moments after Izaya. They decided to call it a day and go back to the motel to check up on the others. Rin was disappointed, he really wanted to know about Shizuo. _'He doesn't seem to be a bad guy, but I won't know that for sure until I meet him. But how is that gonna happen?'_

"No, stay away from me!" A male voice was heard in a alleyway. The twins stopped and turned to the direction of the voice. A man holding a bag was being held back against wall by a figure who was all in black with the exception with the helmet it wore.

_'No way, that's the rider I saw yesterday.'_ Rin thought.

Suddenly, the figure created a scythe that seemed to be made by some black substance. It was about to attack the man until two gunshots was heard and it realized it was shot in the shoulder. It looked behind its back to see Yukio aiming his two guns at it. The man screamed and ran off into another direction. The rider tried to go after him, but it was shot yet again.

'Don't try anything funny." Yukio demanded.

The rider decided to swing its scythe at the twins only to be shot again. But then the helmet came off. Rin and Yukio stared at it in shock.

_'It doesn't have a head...'_

Rin took out his Koma sword out and started to be covered by his blue flames and swung his sword at the headless being. The rider was able to dodge his swing and escape. The noise of a neighing horse was heard as the rider drove off pass the twins to the streets.

Rin tried to chase after it. "Hey! Come back here!"

"Rin, stay where you are!" Yukio yelled.

Rin stopped where he was. He put his sword away and the flames disappeared. He then fell on his knees, lowering his head as he stared at the ground.

Yukio ran towards his brother and stood next to him."It seems that there is more to this city than we expected."

As the crowds looked at the twins, Rin continued looking at the concrete ground in total confusion.

"What was that?"


	4. Chapter 4

The Blue Flame of Ikebukuro Chapter 4

Earlier that day, at about 3:30pm, Celty Sturluson was talking to Izaya Orihara in Shinjuku, getting information for a job she had to do. She was hoping to finish the job quickly and then return home to spend time with Shinra, her boyfriend, who was off the whole week.

[That's all I need to do?] Celty typed on her PDA to Izaya.

"Yep, You just need to look for Kisuke Inoue and take the bag of cash he stole from some clients of mine. It's a simple job really," he replied. "By the way..."

[What is it?] she asked.

He smirked at her. "Have you heard of the rumors about a kid who stopped Shizu-chan? Apparently, he has the same strength as him. Isn't that funny?"

Celty nodded. [Yes, I heard of them. But I find it hard to believe though.]

Izaya chuckled. "It's true though. I was there to see it myself. Anyway, you should get going. You don't want keep your boyfriend waiting."

If Celty had a head, she would've glared at Izaya at that moment. She sat down on her motorcycle Shooter and drove off towards Ikebukuro. Izaya waved at her then put his hands in his jacket pockets, and said under his breath "I would be careful if I were you."

* * *

Celty drove through the streets of Ikebukuro, looking for her target when she saw Shizuo, who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. She stopped at the side at the street, trying to get his attention. He turned his attention to her and gave her a smile. "Hey Celty, what's up?"

She took out her PDA and typed [I'm on a job right now. I just thought I check up on you. You seem lost...]

Shizuo read the message and he sighed."Well something has been bugging me lately. It's that kid that stopped me yesterday, It's been stuck on my mind. I never met anyone other than Simon who could stop one of my throws."

Celty nodded, [I'm not surprised actually. It's certainly unusual for another person to have your strength. But it also means that there are others like you.]

He shrugged."I guess. But what's bugging me the most is that he was talking to that damn flea Izaya!"

_'Izaya? What's he's up to this time?'_ she thought. [Is it possible he brought the kid here to challenge you?]

He crossed his arms, with disdain on his face."I don't know, but the flea is planning something, I know he is. I better find that kid before he does."

[You're not going to hurt the boy, are you?]

He ran his hand through his blond locks."I'm not planning to. I just want to ask him some questions and see if this is just one of Izaya's plans."

[I can help you out after I'm done my job, if you want.]

He smiled at her. He was grateful that he had her as his friend. "Sure, I'll text ya if I find him."

Celty nodded at him and when she was about to leave, she spotted the man she was looking for. She waved goodbye to Shizuo and rode off following her target. After a few minutes, the man realized that he's being followed and started to run through the crowds. Celty went after him through the streets and got him cornered at an alleyway. She parked her motorcycle at a dead end and used her powers to keep the man from running off.

"No, stay away from me!" he yelled in fear. She weaved her scythe with her powers, ready to knock the man unconscious and bring the money to Izaya. It was too easy.

Or that's what she thought.

The noise of two gunshots was heard, and Celty found herself in pain. She realized that she was shot in the shoulder. The shadows binding the man disappeared and the man ran screaming past her. She turned around to try to catch him, only to be shot again. She looked to see who shot her and saw two boys, one wearing a uniform of some sort, glasses, and holding two guns aiming at her. The other was wearing more casual clothing and look like he was carrying a sword with him. She recognized the boy with the sword as Rin Okumura, the boy who was able to stop Shizuo's throw without any problems. _'It's that boy I heard about in the chatrooms. And I feel something...unusual from him. But why is he here?'_

The bespectacled boy commanded her to not to try anything funny. But she really didn't have time to get into a fight. She had to look for Kisuke all over again and try get home early for once. She decided she would knock out the boys and leave them unharmed. She picked up her scythe she dropped earlier and try to aim at the boys, only to hear another gun shot. But she didn't feel like she was shot again, and realized that her helmet wasn't on her neck anymore.

Then she looked at Rin, who pulled out his sword and was covered in blue flames and his appearance looked more demonic. _'Blue flames? This boy is definitely not human, that would explain why he could catch Shizuo's throws. I never thought I meet another non-human being since Saika. But then, what is he?' _

She got out of her thoughts immediately when she noticed that Rin was about to slash her with his flaming sword. She was able to dodge it and ran to where she parked Shooter and drove pass the boys. She realized that she forgot to pick up her helmet and made a temporary one with her powers. _'I just have to cross my fingers that those boys don't take my helmet.' _She drove through the streets, looking for her target once again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shizuo was at his job as a bodyguard for debt collector and old friend Tom Tanaka. They were finishing up with their last client, who was a middle-aged woman who always payed back her loans.

"Okay Shizuo, that was the last one. You can go home early today." Tom said.

Shizuo nodded."Thanks Tom. See you later."

As he walked away, he heard Tom asked "You feeling okay? You seem so out of it today."

"I'm fine, really." He responded with his back turned away from Tom. Of course he wasn't really fine, he was getting frustrated that he was having a hard time finding the kid and he needed to find him before Izaya let whatever plan he's doing happen. He stopped at a convenience store and bought another pack of cigarettes, realizing that he was running low. He lit one and took a drag, trying to calm himself down. He continued to walk aimlessly through Ikebukuro, hoping he would just bump into the kid. He stopped by a opening of an alley way. He looked down and saw a familiar yellow cat helmet. He walked into the alley and picked the helmet up, getting a better look at it. Shizuo's rage started to built up in him.

"There's no doubt, this is Celty's helmet. But what the hell happened?" He looked around to see a few bullets and dried blood stains on the concrete ground. _'Someone had the nerve to shoot her. When I find him, he's dead!'_

He took out his yellow phone and texted Celty that he found her helmet and to meet him at the park when she finished her job. He put his phone back in his pants pocket and walked back to the street, holding Celty's helmet with both hands.

* * *

Celty just finished getting the bag of money back and was on her way to Shinjuku when she saw the text from Shizuo. She changed her direction and headed back to meet him at the park. She was grateful that Shizuo was the one who found her helmet and the boys didn't take it. When she arrived at the meeting spot, she ran straight to Shizuo, who was just standing near a light post. She paused and saw that his expression was blank. If it was any other situation, she wouldn't be bothered by it. But for some reason, she felt really uneasy. Shizuo shoved the helmet at her non-existent face and she took it from him. She made the temporary helmet disappear and put her original on her neck.

Before she was able to thank Shizuo, he asked "Who did this to you?"

Celty stiffened up at the sudden question. _'But how did he know?'_

"I found your helmet along with some bullets. Now tell me who did it so I can kill him."

She could tell that in Shizuo's voice that he was really pissed, even if his face didn't show it. She finally responded with [I was attacked while on my job. There was two boys, one who wore glasses and had two guns shot me and the other...]

"Yeah, who's the other one?"

[The other had a kantana but he and the sword possessed blue flames. He tried to slash me with it, but I was able to escape.] She paused and backspaced her message. [He is also the same person who stopped you...]

Shizuo's expression changed to anger after that last sentence. That was the last straw. He wouldn't let that kid and his friend get away with attacking Celty. But instead of killing him, he decided was going to give that kid a lesson with messing with someone close to him.

[You're not going to kill that boy, are you?] Celty asked.

He tried to answer her as calmly as he could."I'm not going to kill him, but he won't be able to walk for a long time. Though I will kill his friend for shooting you. I said it before and I will say it again, anyone who tries to aim a blade at you, and in this case two guns, is going to deal with me!"

Celty started to worry about Shizuo. She wasn't sure that he could handle Rin with his blue flames and this boy could possibly harm him. [Shizuo, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go after him. I'm pretty sure the boy you encountered isn't human. And I'm not too sure how strong his blue flames are.]

Shizuo just stared at Celty in disbelief. "Celty, did you forget I'm the strongest man in Ikebukuro? If I can deal with some demonic blade army, I'm sure I can beat the shit out of some kid who goes on fire."

[But...] She couldn't finish that sentence, not wanting to anger Shizuo more. She 'sighed' and said [Okay, but I want to be able to question him. Don't hurt him too bad.]

"I'll try." With that, Shizuo walked away towards home, still pissed. Celty went on her motorcycle and left on her way to Shinjuku to return the money to Izaya.

* * *

Izaya chuckled as he sat down on his couch with the bag of money next to him. Celty arrived with the bag and he told her that the clients will be coming later to pick it up and she could go home. She asked if he sent those twins after her, only to laugh and told her that he had nothing to do with it.

"You're so funny carrier. Did you honestly think I would send Rin-kun and his brother at you? But it was certainly not how that was supposed to go. But I don't mind really."

He got up from the couch, leaving the bag there and went on his computer. He check over at the Dollars website to see threads about Shizuo having a rampage near Sunshine City. He laughed at how everything was going. "As long as Shizu-chan is mad at Rin-kun, everything will go as I want. And with the added bonus that Rin-kun isn't totally human, it makes it more fun."

He opened up a drawer at his desk and took out a purple cellphone. He flipped it open and started texting with it.

"Now to get them to meet properly..."

* * *

At a motel somewhere in Ikebukuro, Rin Okumura was lying in bed staring at the ceiling in frustration. He was thinking of what had happened after he came back from searching for Shizuo and bumping into the Headless Rider. Yukio and Shura organized everyone to go on a man hunt for both Shizuo and the Rider the next day and said to bring them alive. He didn't expect his trip to turn into a wild goose chase after two demons. A faint noise of a opening door and foot steps made Rin sit up on the bed and saw Yukio and Shiemi holding a bag with some soft drinks.

"We thought that you might be thirsty, so we went out and got you one." Shiemi said as she gave Rin the bag.

Rin took out a drink from the bag and gave it back to the blonde. "Thanks..." He opened his drink and drank it slowly.

"Are you alright Nii-san? You've been down since we encountered that headless creature." Yukio asked.

Rin slammed his drink on the side table, glaring at his younger twin. "I'm tired of this! Why do we have to waste our time!? I thought we were just going to relax for once. Now some headless demon probably wants to kill me."

Yukio sighed, trying to keep calm. "I know this wasn't supposed to turn into work but if we let that headless demon do what it please, who knows what's going to happen to this city. Also, we still have to question Shizuo Heiwajima. I'm afraid there isn't going to be any relaxation until we figure all this out."

Rin lowered his head and stared at the ground. This whole thing was stressing him out and he wondered how he was going to fight that headless demon.

Suddenly, a notification of text rang from Rin's smartphone and he shot up from his bad mood. He took the phone out of his pocket and looked at the message, which was from a private caller. His eyes shot open when he read it. "You guys, look at this."

Yukio and Shiemi looked at Rin in confusion and sat beside him. They looked at the message as well and were in disbelief.

[I can get you to meet Shizuo Heiwajima. Tomorrow in the middle of Ikebukuro.]

* * *

**A/N: Hello There! Sorry that it has taken me almost 2 months to update. I been busy with school and my own personal problems. That being said, the next chapter will probably won't come out until the end of June because I have exams all month. Please review, I would like to know what I'm doing so far!**


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning at a square in Ikebukuro, Rin with his sword, Shiemi with Nii-chan on her shoulders patrolled the streets filled with busy crowds in uniform, looking for any sign of Shizuo or the Headless Rider. After the random text from the night before, Yukio stationed Rin and Shiemi there, just in case the private caller was right.

Rin sighed, feeling uneasy. "I'm really not sure about this."

"What do you mean Rin?" Shiemi asked her friend.

Rin lowered his head, staring at the sidewalk. "That Shizuo would even be here. Who knows, he might not even come around today."

Shiemi sighed, not knowing what to do to make Rin feel any better. As they continued their walk, they saw a familiar man with his signature fluffy coat and a smirk on his face. The raven stopped and waved at the students. "Why hello there Rin-kun, Shiemi-san. You guys looking for someone?"

Rin and Shiemi stopped a few feet away from him. Rin waved back unenthusiastically. "Hey..."

"Oh hello Orihara-san." Shiemi said with a respectful bow. "We're looking for Shizuo Heiwajima and the headless demon!"

"I don't think that would be a good idea to search for Shizu-chan, especially right now. I heard he's really angry right now and no one knows why." Izaya warned them.

Rin hid his hands in his pockets. He really didn't want to talk to Izaya. "We don't have a choice. We been ordered by the higher ups to bring him and the headless thing alive."

Izaya chuckled for a moment. "Oh, it looks like Shizu-chan is in big trouble if the True Cross wants him. But what do you two want the headless rider for?"

Before Rin could answer, a street sign was thrown, just passing the group when it impaled the street a few feet away. The three looked at where the sign was thrown from and saw Shizuo Heiwajima. He was charging towards them with his hands balled into fists. Rin looked at Izaya and Shiemi, thinking for a moment. Since he didn't want Shiemi to get killed in the crossfire and Izaya was not going to be much help, he only had one choice.

Rin looked at Izaya straight in the eye and said to him "I have a bad feeling about this. I really don't like you but," He bowed his head to Izaya, "Please take Shiemi to safety. I'll deal with Shizuo."

Shiemi stared at Rin in surprise. "Rin..."

Izaya smirked to himself, happy how things were going. "I understand." He took Shiemi's hand. "Let's go Shiemi-san."

Shiemi nodded in agreement and they both ran away from the scene.

Rin stood his ground as Shizuo got closer. His sunglasses hid the rage in his eyes but Rin could tell that he wasn't happy. He glared at the angry man before him, ready to finally get some answers.

The bodyguard grabbed Rin by the collar with one hand, glaring at the boy and asked "You Rin Okumura?"

Rin gave a brief nod. "Yes, and you must be Shizuo Heiwajima."

Shizuo scoffed at him."You have some nerve kid. Getting into other people's business like you're some kind of big shot."

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked in confusion.

Shizuo was getting more angry with this kid. "Don't act all dumb! Izaya sent you to me, hasn't he?"

Rin really did not know what to say. He only asked Izaya for info on Shizuo once and it wasn't really that much in the first place. "W-well, not exactly but..."

The blond started to shake Rin slowly back and forth. "So you are involved with that flea!"

Rin shook his head in defense, trying to explain himself. "I barely know him! Besides, what's your damn problem with him?"

"He does nothing but make my life miserable and causing random violent crap to happen in this city! But right now, I'm going to make you and your friend pay for hurting a close friend of mine..." He held Rin higher to the sky while creating a fist with his free hand, ready to punch Rin the face.

"Wait, your friend?" Rin asked. Then it finally hit him. Shizuo must be friends with that headless demon and he wanted revenge.

Shizuo put his fist near Rin's face. "Now tell me where I can find your friend or I'm just going to beat the shit out of you."

Rin took a huge sigh. He wasn't going to sell out his little brother, especially not to this man. "Sorry, but I can't let you hurt him..."

Suddenly, blue flames wrapped around the arm Shizuo was using to lift Rin. He let Rin go and Rin fell on his behind. He tried to put out the fire but it eventually went out on its own. He ended up with his hand and part of his sleeve burnt but due to his high tolerance to pain, he was able to stand the burn. He took off his sunglasses and put it away in his breast pocket of his vest. He glared at Rin with a sadistic smirk on his face.

"That's too bad. You're dead kid!"

* * *

Meanwhile at a cafe not too far from the men, Shiemi and Izaya were sitting near a window and was ordering some drinks.

"I would like some black coffee please." He said to the waitress. "What would you like, Shiemi-san?"

"Oh, just some green tea." Shiemi replied while she looked out the window. She watched as Shizuo pulled out a street sign from the ground and swing it at Rin, only for Rin to grab it from the other end and burned it into nothing. She was worried about how the fight was going to turn out. The blonde hoped that no one was going to be killed. Izaya called her name a few times, snapping her out of her daze.

"Now Shiemi-san, you shouldn't be worrying yourself over them. I'm sure Rin-kun will be fine."

"I know but...I can't help but think that someone might get killed..." she quaked.

Izaya gave her a reassuring smile, a fake one but enough to fool the girl. "If someone does get killed, it's Shizu-chan fault for being such an idiot." He decided to change the subject, hoping to have a little of his sick 'fun' with Shiemi. "So enough with what's happening outside. I want to talk more about you Shiemi-san. What would have made a girl like you want to become an exorcist?"

Shiemi got a bit startled with the sudden change of subject but she pulled herself together and answered the older man's question. "Well, a few months ago, I was didn't think about being an exorcist at all. All I wanted to do was protect my grandmother's garden after she died. But after meeting Rin, I wanted to change myself. I didn't want to be a cry baby anymore. I wanted to become more like Rin and be able to help him in anyway I can."

Izaya smirked at her. "Oh, so you'll do anything for Rin-kun?"

Shiemi nodded, "Of course I would! He's my friend!"

Izaya stroked his chin, continuing with his little game. "So why won't you help him out right now?"

She held her hands in front of her. "Well, because I'll just be in the way! Heiwajima-san would kill me in a instant."

"But you just said you'll do anything for him, that includes risking your life for him. Or maybe you're not as loyal to him than you might think." Izaya just loved to mess with his humans, predicting what they will do next. And Shiemi was no different from the others.

"Of course I'll risk my life for him!" Shiemi practically yelled at the man.

He knew she would said that. "Then go outside and stop the fight right now." he commanded as he pointed at the window.

Shiemi thought for a moment of what she could do, but it was useless. Shizuo would easily run a pole through Nii-chan, even in its larger form and trying to protect Rin without Nii-chan would end with her seriously injured or dead, making Rin lose it and trying to avenge her. It was no use, she couldn't help Rin. But she didn't want to believe what Izaya had told her was true. She was loyal to Rin, wasn't she?

"And I got another question for you. Since Rin-kun is the main reason you wanted to become an exorcist, what would happen if he were to die in his fight with Shizu-chan? Would you still want to become one, despite the risks?"

"Rin isn't going to die! He's going to beat Heiwajima-san! He's...!"

"You're not answering my question," He got up from his seat and put his face a few inches to Shiemi's. His eyes was full of spite, giving Shiemi chills through her body. "Would you still want to be an exorcist if Rin were to die right now?"

Shiemi opened her mouth, but no words left her lips. She closed her mouth and lowered her head, staring at the table. If Rin died, would she still want to be an exorcist? Or would she go back to the way she was? But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of an exact answer. So without lifting her head she simply answered him: "I don't know..."

Izaya smiled in satisfaction and sat back to his seat. The waitress returned with their beverages and set them in front of both of them.

"Ah, finally some refreshments~!" Izaya mused as he picked up his coffee.

Shiemi dragged her tea towards her and took a few sips from it. She didn't look up to Izaya, not wanting to see those cold eyes she saw on him.

* * *

Rin dodged the hurling trashcan that was aimed at him. For the past few minutes, he has been avoiding to hurt Shizuo very severely in order to bring him alive to Shura and Yukio. He has been either catching whatever Shizuo threw at him or dodging his attacks completely. But it seems that the fight wasn't going to end any time soon if he didn't used his sword against the bodyguard. He quickly drew out his sword and the flames that covered his body intensified.

Shizuo looked as Rin did this action. He quickly grabbed a stop sign to try to counteract the sword. Rin jumped and tried to swung at Shizuo, only for Shizuo to block it with the sign. Rin stepped back from him while the blond's weapon disappeared into dust.

"So what are you going to do now?" Rin asked him. "There's no point in continuing this fight. Innocent people will get hurt. Just turn yourself in already!"

Rin started to charge at him and swung his sword once more. And that was when he made a huge mistake. He slashed a scar across Shizuo's chest, burning part of his clothes in the process.

Shizuo couldn't help but to have a flashback at the time when he and Izaya first met and remembered that the flea slashed him the same way Rin did just a moment ago. He touched his wound and his rage got worst.

"You're...dead..." he muttered.

_'I wasn't supposed to slash him.'_ Rin thought. He was only going to distract the man while creating a ring of fire to keep Shizuo from moving but he didn't count on actually inflicting an injury on him.

"YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD!" Shizuo shouted as he pulled a street light beside him and swung at Rin.

Rin was too in shock about his mistake that he didn't notice that Shizuo was about to knock him into next month. _'I wasn't supposed to...'_

Dark shadows started to wrap itself around Rin and the street pole was only a few inches from his face stopped in midair. Shizuo was also being subdued by the shadows. The sound of a horse came from the distance and a black motorcycle halted in front of the two. Shizuo and Rin turned their heads and knew who the rider was before them.

"Celty..."

"It's that headless demon..."

The shadows continued to wrap around Rin until he was completely cocooned by it. Celty using her powers to gently put the pole down to the ground. She released her shadows from Shizuo and walked over him. She quickly typed her message.

[You're hurt...]

Shizuo rubbed his neck, feeling like he disappointed his friend ."Yeah I guess. Sorry... I went a little overboard..."

She 'sighed'. [Don't apologize to me. We better get Shinra to help with your wounds. And I have some questions for the boy.]

Celty created a side car with her powers and set the now cocooned Rin in it, making sure the cocoon was securely set. She created another helmet for Shizuo and gave to him. They both sat on Shooter and sped away from the scene to Shinra's.

As the crowds dispersed from what happened, Shiemi from the cafe window watched as the Rider and Shizuo disappeared from sight.

"Please don't kill Rin. Please..."


End file.
